Oil fell more than two dollars, as protests over Corona in China fueled concerns about demand

Oil futures fell more than $2 a barrel on Monday, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude falling to an 11-month low as protests in China, the largest oil importer, over tough COVID-19 restrictions fueled concerns about demand.

Brent crude fell $2.16, or 2.6 percent, to trade at $81.47 a barrel at 0230 GMT, after falling to $81.16 earlier in the session, its lowest since Jan. 11.

US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $2.08, or 2.7 percent, to $74.20 a barrel. Crude fell to $73.82 earlier, its lowest since December 27, 2021.

Both benchmarks, which hit 10-month lows last week, posted three straight weekly declines. Brent ended the last week down 4.6 percent, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4.7 percent.

China, the world’s largest oil importer, has adhered to President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy even as much of the world has lifted most restrictions.

Hundreds of demonstrators and police clashed in Shanghai on Sunday evening, after protests against China’s strict coronavirus restrictions broke out for a third day and spread to several cities following a fire that killed people in the country’s far west.

Mainland China has not seen such a wave of civil disobedience since Xi came to power ten years ago, with frustration mounting over his zero-COVID policy after the pandemic outbreak nearly three years ago.

At the same time, diplomats from the G7 and the European Union have discussed capping the price of Russian oil between $65 and $70 a barrel to limit revenues to fund Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine without disrupting global oil markets.